


message recieved

by Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell



Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23147083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell/pseuds/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell
Summary: Nebula wants to start patching things up.
Relationships: -background, Original Characters & Original Characters, Quinn Airgone/Avocato/Gary Goodspeed
Kudos: 5





	message recieved

Nebula doesn’t know what drives her to do it. Maybe its the fact that she’s been talking, sending weekly videos to her parents for almost a month now, receiving videos back, because she’s been trying to make good on her promise of being less selfish to her nephew. Maybe its the fact that even with the quiet lo-fi playing in the background, it’s still too quiet. 

So she hits the  _ record  _ button on the hovercam again and takes a deep breath.

“Hey, Mer,” She begins. “Hey, Purrding. Hope the two of you are doing okay. I’m doing pretty well. I’m still working on recovering. I’ve been using the brace Mom gave me.”

It feels awkward, stilted with only her talking, but she does, joking about how all the food was rotted in her fridge and had to be replaced, about her leg brace, about the new group.

“Anyways.” She says finally. “I should probably make myself some dinner. Let me know how you’re doing, okay?”

She clicks it off, and sends the video, thankful for the first time that her mother plugged the Mechataur’s comm links into the camera for her. 

* * *

She doesn’t get a response video back. She doesn’t know why she even tried it; she remembers the fight she had with Americato on the ship right before they dropped her off. 

She records a second video anyways. 

(“Hi Mer, Hi Purrding. I don’t have as much time as I did last week, I promised I’d have another vocal demo in by the end of the day. I hope you’re doing well! They hired a bodyguard for me and he’s pretty annoying, but he’s fun to argue with, at least.”)

No response.

* * *

The next week, Nebula records two videos. One is a lighthearted one talking to Purrding; telling him about her life and asking what’s been going on in his, what kind of things he’s learning, how being the mechanic for Mer is going. She tells him he doesn’t have to respond if he doesn’t want to, that she knows it’s gotta be pretty awkward hearing from an aunt he hasn’t seen regularly since he was a child. 

The other one is a video to Americato.

“Hey, Mer.” She begins. It’s late at night, and she’s exhausted, but she owes this to her little sibling. “I just… wanted to properly apologize. I’ve been a bit of a bitch the past few years.”

(In the back of her mind she can pretty much imagine the snort that Americato would make.)

“And I don’t have any reason for it, other than I was selfish.” She continues. “I wanted things to be some perfect fairytale thing for me and that’s… that’s just bullshit, you know? Life can’t be like that, and instead I spent the last few years missing out on so much stuff with you. Being back home, on the Crimson Light… it made me really think about what a crappy person I’ve been, lately. You don’t have to forgive me or anything- you don’t owe me shit. But I  _ do  _ owe you an apology, because you’re my little sibling and even if I’m shallow and self-centered, I love you.”

She swallows, and ends the video before she can start crying. 

* * *

To her surprise, Purrding starts sending videos back. They’re nowhere near as long and rambly as hers are, but she can tell that that’s just him. He’s more direct about things, and she is  _ so angry  _ at herself for missing out on three years of her nephew. 

He makes little deadpan jokes, and she only knows them for jokes because of the expression he makes (so similar to her sister-in-law’s at cracking a joke.) His videos usually end with something in the engine clanging and him shooting off to check on it, the ghostgrip wailing. He tells her he’s not mad at her, he’s more bewildered by the whole thing, but he appreciates that she’s trying to stay in touch. 

It’s really nice. 

Americato still doesn’t respond. Nebula tries not to take it to heart, and she still sends them occasional updates, still asks if they’re doing well in their races and the like. She doesn’t let herself be mad-  _ she  _ was the one who fucked things up. It’s going to take a lot of time and energy to fix, and she’s only just begun. 

Still, it hurts her. 

* * *

(One day, when she comes home furious, she tries to make a video log about it- it’s what she’s always done, just get the camera going and rant and rave about her emotions till she’s tired. She calls them her bitch tapes. 

“Those  _ fucking  _ tabloids,” She spits into the camera. “I almost fucking died- I broke my leg, I had a concussion, I got  _ shot  _ and all of that shit happened on camera- But is that what they report? No! They decide to joke about how ugly the scar on my back is!”

She collapses back into the chair, groaning with annoyance. 

“God  _ damn,  _ I know it’s ugly. But it means I survived, right?? So they shouldn’t have a right to make fun of how I can’t pull off backless things anymore. And I’m still going to wear them,  _ fuck  _ what the tabloids say, I’m half tempted to go down there and punch someone right in their smarmy little mouth, see if they feel like writing shit like that again-”

When she runs out of steam, she ends the recording, thinking it will automatically save. She forgets its still on  _ send  _ function.)

* * *

A week passes, and she forgets all about her recording. She stumbles home late after a show and a while spent bantering with Pepurr, and she kicks off her high heels, collapsing on the couch and massaging her ankle. 

The little camera is beeping to say she has a message, and it makes her perk up slightly. Maybe it’ll be her parents, running over the top of each other to fill her in the way they always do. Or maybe it will be Purrding, with a brief video to give her a rundown on the races they’ve won or lost, and what his current points of interest in learning are. 

Either way, she pulls her hair into a bun and grabs it, turning it on and settling in a more comfortable position on the couch. 

She is met not with the faces of her parents or her nephew, but her little sibling, who is smirking, a little awkwardly. 

“I think you accidentally sent me your bitch tape, and  _ wow.”  _ Americato says on the hologram, and Nebula groans. “Good to know family’s not the only one you get pissed at, I guess. As for the rest of the videos… what the  _ hell  _ is wrong with you? Of  _ course  _ Purrding and I have been winning our races, what do you take me for? An  _ amateur?” _

Nebula feels something inside of her chest relax and she bursts out laughing, settling down to watch her sibling rant on screen.

It’s a start. 


End file.
